I’m a Potato Head

   I envision many of you that know me, reading the title of this post and chuckling to yourselves “Yes...you are.” Hardy-har-har. I knew when I wrote the title that many would take the cheap shot and I welcome it...this time. The joke aside, I must admit that I have a great love of potatoes. It has become one of those foods that I can never see myself doing without. So imagine my surprise to learn just how wonderful potatoes can be. Brace yourselves...this is going to be a pro potato post.

   First, let me start off by saying that I LOVE french fries. Let me also say that this must be one of the unhealthiest ways to eat a potato besides it being in the form of a chip in a bag. To be fair, hand cut baked fries are very healthy, but who thinks of this method when thinking about french fries? Most of us think about McDonalds fries when thinking about french fries...but I don’t think we could get any further from a potato, as a potato, than that! The whole idea of “frying” anything is certainly not the optimal way to cook, but damn us for being human and having it taste good to us. I’ve just gotten wise to the idea of baking homemade french fries...lightly seasoned and sprinkled with olive oil...oh yeah!

   Now let me throw this disclaimer out very quickly in lieu of that last comment. If during the reading of this post, you get hungry...it’s NOT my fault. You should have eaten something before reading.

   As the title suggests, I love to eat potatoes. I don’t think there is any form besides raw that I would not eat them in (I mean, aside from the obvious health hazard of certain fast food chain variations). I recently have begun a serious roasting binge...after discovering purple potatoes. I’ve seen them in bags of chips before, y’know the kind that come in the fancy bag and are a bit pricey, but I’ve never been to a store that actually sold them...until recently.

   I must say I was smitten with their taste, and was inspired to tale their talent further. So now I cut them up along with regular white potatoes, red potatoes...and sweet potatoes, season them and add a dab of olive oil, and let them cook for about an hour and a half while I cut up the rest of my ingredients (not going to share all my secrets, so just use whatever vegetables you like). Add the veggies, cook a bit longer and viola! A meal fit for a king...especially in my castle!

   Don’t get me wrong, I’m not some high end chef or one of these television personalities that cooks for a living (although I do cook to live), I’m just a guy that has a serious love of the spud. So I’m genuinely hurt at what the fast food industry does to my little buddies. They already get a bad wrap from those trying to lose weight and are being blamed, in part, for diabetes (not true by the way). Just ask the guy that ate twenty of them...and only them, for sixty days straight. Granted, it wasn’t the most scientific presentation since we don’t know his condition and lifestyle before he went on the spud fast, but the point is if they were as bad as some would claim...this kind of experiment would reveal it methinks.

   Speaking of the health value of potatoes, let me finish this by dropping a few little known facts about my favorite food. An unsalted baked potato with skin has no fat, no cholesterol, only 30 milligrams of sodium, 7 grams of protein, is a good source of Vitamin C and B6. Additionally...it has more potassium than a banana! So...dig in, and enjoy!

http://www.forksoverknives.com/do-potatoes-cause-diabetes/

http://www.forksoverknives.com/getting-well-on-twenty-potatoes-a-day/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=Newsletter010813

http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2770/2

http://www.askmen.com/sports/foodcourt_100/145_eating_well.html